Bram Fransiscus Coolen1, Tessa Geelen1, Arno Nauerth2, Larry de Graaf1, Klaas Nicolay1, Gustav J. Strijkers1
1Biomedical NMR, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technlogy, Eindhoven, Netherlands; 2Bruker BioSpin MRI GmbH, Ettlingen, Germany
A method for fast and robust 3D T1 quantification of the mouse heart is presented. This is based on a IntraGate FLASH retrospectively triggered steady-state sequence in combination with DESPOT1 analysis. By additionally incorporating blood saturation, flow artifacts are reduced and blood-myocardial contrast is enhanced. With this method, very homogeneous T1 maps of the mouse myocardium were obtained. This steady-state approach allowed quantification of T1 through the entire mouse heart within reasonable acquisition times.